Invasive beetle confirmed in 3 counties HOPE (AP) — State agriculture officials say an insect native to Asia that kills ash trees has been confirmed in three Arkansas counties. The Arkansas State Plant Board and the Arkansas Department of Agriculture say the emerald ash borer has been found in Hot Spring, Clark and Nevada counties. The insect arrived in the U.S. around 2002 and has killed about 50 million ash trees since then. Officials say the insect has now been confirmed in 24 U....

Arkansas Scholarship Lottery scamThe Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is warning Arkansans about scammers who are making false representations about individuals winning a lottery prize. The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery has received several reports of person purporting to represent the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery calling Arkansas residents and informing them that they have won lottery prizes. The caller will often know the victim's home address, and will often instruct him/her to...

Republicans tout anti-tax message at convention HOT SPRINGS (AP) — Trying to complete a takeover of the state's top offices this November, Arkansas Republicans touted a tax-cutting, anti-regulation message and derided Democrats as too tied to their national party as the GOP gathered Saturday for their annual convention. The Republican nominees for statewide and congressional offices expressed confidence that the GOP would keep up its gains in what had once been a Democratic stronghold in th...

Christie, Romney to stump for Hutchinson LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson is enlisting the help of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie next month. Hutchinson on Saturday announced that Romney and Christie were coming to Arkansas for separate fundraisers for his bid for Arkansas governor. Christie will headline events in northwest Arkansas and Little Rock on Aug. 27, and Romney will be at an event in...

Bulls Shoals police chief not guilty on 2 counts HARRISON (AP) — The police chief of Bull Shoals was found not guilty Friday night on two counts related to a 2013 arrest. A mistrial was declared on the third count of use of excessive force in the case of Daniel Sutterfield, according to The Baxter Bulletin. The jury acquitted Sutterfield on charges of conspiracy and falsifying a police report. The charges were related to the July 2013 arrest of Nicholas Dore on suspicion of domestic abuse. P...

Voluntary nationwide recall of tattoo ink, needles, kits due to microbial contaminationLITTLE ROCK — White & Blue Lion, Inc., of City of Industry, Calif., is recalling all lots of tattoo inks and tattoo needles due to harmful bacterial contamination. Use of these products may cause a potentially life-threatening bloodstream infection. This recall includes all tattoo ink, tattoo needles, tubes, ink cups and kits distributed by White & Blue Lion. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is not aware of any licensed body art establi...

More time given for alcohol, wage petitions LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Supporters of proposals to expand alcohol sales in Arkansas and gradually raise the state's minimum wage were given another month Friday to circulate petitions after being told by election officials they fell short of the signatures needed to win a spot on the November ballot. Secretary of State Mark Martin's office told the Let Arkansas Decide campaign, which is trying to get the proposed constitutional amendment on the bal...

'Hog Call' receives federal trademark FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — The University of Arkansas' distinctive "Hog Call" has been granted a federal trademark registration. The university announced Friday that it is believed to be the first college or university in the nation to receive a trademark for its cheer. The sound mark of the cheer and the previously registered, "Wooo Pig Sooie!" are intended to protect the institution's long-standing tradition and signature cheer from unlicensed comm...

Hobby Lobby president shares plan for Bible museum FORT SMITH (AP) — The president of Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby says a Bible museum to hold his family's collection in Washington, D.C. is expected to open in 2017. The Times Record report that Steve Green spoke to some 600 attendants of the Fort Smith Mayor's Prayer Breakfast on Friday. The Christian Business Men's Committee invited him to speak at the event more than a year ago. Green says the museum will display his family's extensive co...

Woman, child killed in Van Buren County crash QUITMAN (AP) — Arkansas State Police say a Bee Branch woman and child were killed in a three-vehicle crash on Highway 124 east of Quitman in Van Buren County. An ASP report says Jamie Cathryn Barnum, 30, and Paizlee Ann Barnum, 4, died in the collision just before 5 p.m. Thursday. The report says the car driven by Jamie Barnum was eastbound when it crossed the center line of the highway and struck the trailer of a westbound pickup truck, then ...

Deputy injured in fire released from hospital HOT SPRINGS (AP) — A Hot Springs deputy who was injured while helping residents to safety from a burning apartment building has been released from the hospital. Earlier this week, a blaze ignited at the Village Square Apartments. Sgt. Roy Williams with the Garland County Sheriff's Department suffered first- and second-degree burns after pieces of a burning ceiling fell on him. He was taken to a local hospital, but has since been released. The ...

Man drowns outside lake swimming area HEBER SPRINGS (AP) — A Searcy man has drowned in a lake in north central Arkansas. The Heber Springs police chief told The Daily Citizen that Christopher Ryan Stanford, 32, died Wednesday. He was swimming near Sandy Beach at Greers Ferry Lake in Heber Springs. Authorities say Stanford swam about 100 yards past the designated swimming area. They say he drowned when he tried to return to shore. Witnesses tell police another person who tried to s...

Courthouse gets new windows with grant TEXARKANA (AP) — A southwest Arkansas courthouse is getting more new windows thanks to a state restoration grant. The Texarkana Gazette reported Miller County has received $54,500 for the repairs. Miller County Judge Larry Burgess says the windows on the south side of the courthouse built in 1939 have been damaged by weather. County employees say the windows are rusted and offices get wet when it rains. The grant was provided by the Arkansas H...

Police: Trash dumped at historic cemetery JONESBORO (AP) — Arkansas police are looking for whoever used a historic black cemetery as a garbage dump. The Jonesboro Sun reported someone left trash at the Knights of Pythias Cemetery. Discarded items include two mattresses, a sound system speaker box and new clothes. Jonesboro Parks Director Wixson Huffstetler contacted police when he discovered the trash early Wednesday morning. He says the cleanup was ongoing Thursday. Huffstetler says ...

Forestry Commission offers wildfire kits LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Forestry Commission's Rural Fire Protection Program is taking applications from fire departments across the state for wildfire suppression kits. The kits include equipment such as backpack pumps, leaf blowers, wildland fire personal protective equipment, and wildland firefighting hand tools. The kits are valued at close to $3,000 each and are specially designed to help address the needs of rural communities and ...

Officials: Up to $100M needed for new prison LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas corrections officials told lawmakers Thursday they'll need up to $100 million to build a new prison and $25 million to operate it annually in order to ease prison overcrowding. The request from the agencies overseeing Arkansas' prisons and parole programs comes a little more than two weeks after the Legislature set aside about $6 million annually to ease an influx of state inmates at local jails. State prisons offic...

Vehicle associated with missing man found MABELVALE (AP) — Arkansas police say they have found the vehicle a missing 24-year-old Lonoke County man was driving before he disappeared. Saline County sheriff's deputies responded Wednesday night to a call about an abandoned vehicle in a wooded area in Mabelvale. A department spokesman says the 1999 tan GMC Jimmy belongs to the father of Steven Roach. Roach was reported missing by his family, who says he has a disability. Police say they ar...

US judge asked to strike gay marriage ban LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Attorneys for two same-sex couples asked a federal judge Wednesday to strike down Arkansas' gay marriage ban, as they tried to speed up the case while the ban's constitutionality is being argued before the state Supreme Court. The attorneys filed a motion for summary judgment, asking U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker to find a 2004 constitutional amendment and any related laws barring gay marriage unconstitutional. The coup...

Rutledge: More transparency on outside groups LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A little more than a month after winning the Republican nomination in a primary fight marked by heavy involvement by outside groups, attorney general candidate Leslie Rutledge said Wednesday she supports requiring more transparency about such organizations' involvement in state-level campaigns. Speaking to the Political Animals Club, Rutledge said she'd support requiring outside groups to disclose details about their spendin...